French For Rabbits: The Weight Of Melted Snow

Reviewed by Amanda MIlls

French For Rabbits: The Weight Of Melted Snow

This second French For Rabbits’ album is an introspective affair, fuelled in evident part by the personal break-up of foundersBrooke Singer and John Fitzgerald. Isolation, sadness, and more than a little defiance colour the album, which in places is texturally different to their 2014 album debut ‘Spirits’, although in a similar tone. ‘The Weight Of Melted Snow’ is heavy with emotion. In places the sorrow and contemplation almost drip from the songs. (‘Sadness steals my body, fills my bones. A careless lark, a heavy moan.’) There is much beauty in the lyrical and musical imagery vocalist and songwriter Singer weaves, in particular on the spectral Feathers & Dreams. While still firmly rooted in the delicate piano-vocal-band style of their earlier material there are a couple of new directions for the now five-piece. Written by multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Ben Lemi, Bird’s Eye Point Of View is upbeat alt-pop, with scattered rhythms, chiming guitars, and ghostly vocals. The shimmering Your Halo has a more direct vocal style and again uses a scattered rhythm, underscoring the darker lyric. This is the beautiful sound of a heart breaking and mending, and a stunning statement.